One summer’s day, an accomplished Boston litigator owned up to professional ennui. So in short order, Abigail Ruettgers left the law, went to work at Flour Bakery, and in her spare time stewed: How could she turn her two loves — food and antiques — into a career?
That's where Farm & Fable comes in. The South End shop that's a year in the making opens Friday.
Ruettgers first devoted herself to all manner of scavenging, from Brimfield expeditions to regional estate sales to a Southern antiquing swing, with a London leg thrown in for good measure.
farm & fable!
The payoff begins with her vintage cookbook collection. Classic titles from Jacques Pépin, obsolete tomes from the early 1800s, and out-of-print technique manuals share sunlit shelf space with a capsule collection of new releases. Throwback ephemera includes 1940s tea towels and risqué midcentury cocktail glasses. And then there are the store’s new heirlooms, such as regionally made copper pots displayed atop not-for-sale decor such as a Belgian tiled stove.
Then Ruettgers thought, “Why not bring actual cooking into the fold?” So the Carlisle native built a subterranean classroom kitchen for chef demos and workshops. Next month, the space will serve as the launching pad for her cookbook book club — customers prepare dishes from a designated volume and gather back at the store for a potluck and gabfest.
Moral: It’s always best to pursue your passions.
Farm & Fable, 251 Shawmut Avenue, South End (617-451-1110 or farmandfable.com).
